Pioneer Colt to WinStar

WinStar Farm’s Elliott Walden was an underbidder on one weanling, but he was determined not to miss out a few hips later when a colt by the farm’s young stallion Pioneerof the Nile went through the ring. Walden signed the ticket at $290,000 for hip 1069, a bay consigned by Shawhan Place as agent for Glendalough, LLC. 

“We’re very partial to Pioneerof the Nile,” Walden admitted. “I think he is one of the next top stallions, so we’ve been looking for him and we felt like this was a great colt. He had great balance and overall presence and movement. He is just a really solid Pioneer.” 

Walden said the price was not unexpected and might look like a bargain in a few years, if the stallion keeps turning out stars like multiple Grade I winner American Pharaoh. 

“When we saw the people huddled up out here [in the sales pavilion], we knew it was going to be competitive,” Walden said. “I think these Pioneers in the next year or two are going to be bringing a lot of money. I think he is one of those stallions who is on the rise.” 

In addition to the Pioneerof the Nile weanling, Walden also signed for the mare Grand Mere (Bob and John) during Friday’s session. 

“I think the market is very strong,” Walden said. “We were underbidders on the Gemologist colt (hip 1066) who just sold for $185,000. It’s a competitive market.” 

Shawhan Place’s Matt Koch was also happy with the transaction. 

“We knew he was special at the farm,” Koch said of the weanling. “We got him here and, from the very first show on, he walked like a champ. Even up here he never turned a hair. He was just perfect the whole way through. He was awesome.” 

Shawhan Place was selling the weanling on behalf of his breeder, Pat Waresk’s Paris-based Glendalough. 

“He’s relatively new to the business,” Koch said of Waresk. “He was in the Marines, he is a retired lieutenant colonel and he was involved with field trial dogs–he won the national championship with field trial dogs.” 

The Pioneerof the Nile weanling is out of Indian Love Call (Cherokee Run), who Waresk acquired privately after she RNA’d for $14,000 at the 2011 Keeneland January sale. 

“He contacted me and got in the business a couple of years ago,” Koch said. “This is actually the very first mare I’d bought for him. We bought her off of Dixiana a couple of years ago. Marette Farrell has been helping him pick out mares and getting him some nice stock. And his brothers have gotten into it now. It’s new clients getting into the business and that’s what we all need.”